When There is Clarity, There is Action

Have you ever noticed how much motion there is in the Gospels and the Book of Acts.

Jesus is constantly moving around the Sea of Galilee and down to Jerusalem and back. And, then you have the missionary journeys of the Book of Acts and the early church.

There is something very important about motion in the Bible that God wants us to learn. I don’t think He ever wants us to get too comfortable. It’s like the motion helps us to lean into Him more.

The reason I bring this up is that motion and activity is exactly what makes homeschooling and family life difficult in our modern day.

We are busy!

And this constant activity is what many families complain about.

We are moving, constantly. Even though we might not move homes or travel much, things always seem to be in motion and agitated.

And quite honestly, we don’t have to be homeschooling for our families to feel like they are in constant motion.

Sometimes it’s just hard to get your bearings.

We’re like a boat in a storm. And, while we might mentally feel like we have things together, sometimes we get knocked off our bearings.

We lose our true north.

We don’t need an emergency or a tragedy in our life to knock us off. Sometimes it’s just a constant barrage of activity and busy-ness. Or, maybe we’re faced with a decision that we didn’t expect on a job or church or a loved one. For most things, we feel able to cope, but then something comes about that’s different.

And, then things get foggy.

On the sea, it used to be that when things got foggy the captains of ships would look for the lighthouse. What they needed was a single point of reference! Something to set their bearings to.

Once the ships would focus on the beam of light from the lighthouse, they would be able to be guided into safe harbor.

There doesn’t need to be something horrible happening for you to get knocked off your bearings, though. It can happen simply from the normal activity and busy-ness of life. Cleaning, cooking, work, school,—life, as wonderful as it can be, can knock us off course unexpectedly.

This is why we’ve spent so much time talking about the “Big Why” for parents.

The concept is simple, but just like many truths in the Bible,it’s hard because every aspect of daily life moves against it.

The “Big Why” is the calling and goal that stands over everything in your life. It is your bearing—your light house. When you lose sight of it, things get crazy real quick. But, if you fix your attention on the light, then the next step becomes clear.

People get stuck and don’t know where to go next when they don’t have clarity.

When there is clarity, the next natural step is action.

But, the other truth here is that everyone has a Big Why or sets goals of some sort. Everyone…

And, usually, these goals are met…Does that surprise you?

Well, it’s true.

If you want to know a person’s Big Why, look at the way they live. Even those that seem like they are just floating, look at what they achieve or how they live. People typically achieve the goals they have.

-A person looking for parties will usually find them.
-An alcoholic will usually find a drink.
-A prideful person will typically tear others down or shine the light back on themselves.
-A person that hates school and sees no reason for it will often fail classes
-A person with the goal of getting rich will typically find money even if they take it from someone else and destroy relationships.

Those are pretty extreme examples, but I think you see what I am saying…

If you want to know a person’s Big Why, generally speaking, look at what they achieve and how they live.

People always move in the direction of their goals.

There are times that failure is actually grace from God, and sometimes there are unintended consequences from our goals. But a person typically moves in the direction of their goals.

As parents, God has given all of us the same goal if we are Christ-followers. It is pretty simple. Also, we are not unique as Christians because we have goals. We are unique because of what our goals are.

What are our Goals?

We can go to the Great Commission verses of Matthew 28 and Acts 1 and relate them back to our children. In a sense, our home is our Jerusalem.

We can go to the missional verses of Deuteronomy 6 when God, through Moses, was instructing the Israelites.

By the way, the book of Deuteronomy is a book of legacy. It is about passing down the Law of the Lord and living for God for your children and grand-children.

These are amazing verses and you will hear us return to them often at Teach Them Diligently when encouraging parents.

But, I believe the story of the children coming to Jesus Christ in the Gospels makes a very easy and rehearse-able phrase for us to remember. (Mk 10:18; Lk. 18:15; Mt. 19:13)

Bring our children to Christ.

Should I take this job?

What brings my children to Christ the best?

Should we move?

What brings my children to Christ the best?

Should my wife go to work?

What brings my children to Christ the best?

Should I homeschool or private school?

What brings my children to Christ the best?

Should we move here or there?

What brings my children to Christ the best?

Should I become a pastor or a missionary?

What brings my children to Christ the best?

Which curriculum should I use?

What brings my children to Christ the best?

Should we divorce?

What brings my children to Christ the best?

Should I allow my children to listen to that music?

What brings my children to Christ the best?

In a sense, the Big Why becomes a filter, and the answer to that Big Why question might change as your children grow or circumstances in your family change. And, what might be the right answer for your family might not be the right answer for another family. But, the Big Why is the same for every family set on Christ.

I think that is one of the reasons God allows so much motion in our life.

He wants us to focus.

With so much motion, we don’t have the mental capacity to focus on multiple things. We can only focus on one thing at a time.

When we focus on multiple things, it produces anxiety.

Our competing priorities start to rip at us and tear at our souls and mind. We start to wring our hands. Put another way, we lack peace. That is really what peace is. It is a whole-ness and single-ness.

We will not be able to function well with competing priorities.

Therefore, in our lives at some point, we are forced to choose.

You can have only one main priority.

However, I don’t want to present this as just because you have the priority of bringing your children to Christ does not mean that you will not move, or change jobs, or have a bigger home, or money, or whatever. My point is that in all things keep the main thing the main thing.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. (Mt. 6:33)

Every decision is to be filtered through your Big Why first. And, if you are a Christ-Follower and have children, your calling is to bring your children to Christ. This sounds simple but it is hard.

But, if you follow it, you will have clarity, peace, and action. And, most likely, you will achieve it.

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